FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
Hawaii revelers prefer ghouls to political figures, but
there are always a few who want to play president, and
these masks are among those available at
Spooky's in Kaneohe.

Halloween patriotism
trend fails to reach isles

---

By Scott Vogel
svogel@starbulletin.com

Contrary to reports, rumors of Halloween's demise have been greatly exaggerated. Sure, we all received that e-mail, originally attributed to a woman named Laura who resides in the 714 area code, purporting to uncover possible new terrorist attacks on Oct. 31. ("My friend's friend was dating a guy from Afghanistan ... he BEGGED her not to get on any commercial airlines on 9/11 and to not go any malls [sic] on Halloween.")

Apparently the FBI has followed up on this now-infamous e-mail string, determining the threats to be not credible. Still, in scary times, it's inevitable that the scariest holiday of the year would take on a different cast, and across the country many are struggling in haste to redefine a day traditionally dedicated to all things frightful.

STAR-BULLETIN / 2000
Laurinda Titus-Luciano is so attached to her witch
wear, she has no plans to conjure up a new persona this year.

On the mainland there won't be many grim reapers, ninjas or little tykes covered in blood and gore ringing doorbells this Halloween. Scary costumes are definitely out, especially those sporting mutilated body parts. (As the New York Times recently put it, "Why dress up like a corpse when they are still pulling the dead out of the World Trade Center?")

Replacing the sartorial splendors of years past will be a great many patriotic costumes -- e.g., Uncle Sams, Statues of Liberty, Georges (both Washington and Bush) -- along with a heavy dose of ever-popular superheroes in the Spiderman/Superman vein.

Also jumping off the shelves are real-world heroes, especially police officers and firefighters, whose public approval rating is one of the few positive legacies of post-attack America.

Things are somewhat different in Hawaii, where last month's events continue to resonate in ways unlike the Fourth-of-July-bestrewn mainland. Witness Spooky's Halloween Town, where it's business as usual in Kaneohe.

"Actually, I've tried to stay disconnected from the television and the media so that I can engulf this whole season as normal as possible," said Laurinda Titus-Luciano, who has owned and operated her Windward costume shop for 20 years. "I had heard that 'patriotic' was the big thing. I have a little bit of that, but I still have the gruesome stuff, and the people really, really like it. Things are normal."

By normal, Titus-Luciano means that sales of ghoulish teeth are brisk (no-frills models start at $2.50, while top-flight filthy dentures go for $19.99). Also selling well are liquid blood capsules ($3.50) and "morph" costumes, which will give your youngster's face a half-normal, half-rotting appearance ($19.95).

Spooky's Halloween Town Where: Windward City Shopping Center, corner of Likelike and Kamehameha highways, Kaneohe When: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily through Oct. 31 Phone: 247-5990

"I think that here in Hawaii we're touched differently for some reason," she continued as the theme from "The Exorcist" played softly over the shop's sound system.

"We live on an island; things are like a fantasy, although they exist."

Titus-Luciano has prominently placed a felt Uncle Sam hat in the store ($12.95), but it isn't a big seller. ("I mean, we sell them, but I'm sold out of most of my gory stuff. All my gargoyles are already gone, and we're still two weeks from Halloween.")

A racy Navy nurse uniform (called "Anchors Awow") isn't flying off the racks either. Adults are going for more traditional fare, with men favoring wizard costumes even as women -- Titus-Luciano among them -- continue their love affair with witches.

"I like being a witch because I have to be the controller of this store. And I have to tell the children, 'Don't play with the weapons. Would you like a spider ring instead?' Because I don't want them to feel bad. But that's why I have to dress up as a witch. I black out my teeth, you know."

On another note, costumes reflecting Arab sensibilities -- belly dancers, say, or anything al-Qaida-inspired -- are taboo on the mainland. Not so in Hawaii, once again, where a $6.95 "Arab Headpiece" is a hot item at Spooky's, as is a "Character Beard and Moustache Set" ($1.79), which Titus-Luciano claims is popular with Hawaii residents planning to go as Osama bin Laden. (Turbans are also for rent.)

"They take them by the groups," she said. "They want to be terrorists. I think it's bad taste, but they do it."

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